


Stars

by shell_senji



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Canon Compliant, Complete, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Vignette, fond memories prompt for saitofest 2020, no beta we die like women, saitofest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:07:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22760719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shell_senji/pseuds/shell_senji
Summary: Saito and Chizuru sit outside and chat about stars. Fluffy canonesque vignette
Kudos: 3





	Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to impracticaldemon on tumblr for organizing the 2020 Saitofest! Also a shout-out to my muse for cooperating once in her damn life.

It is well after dark when Saitō returns from his patrol, and the night is briskly cold, his exhales leaving his mouth in little puffs of smoke.

It’s unusually quiet in the Shinsengumi compound; many of the Wolves of Mibu are gone, either on patrol or off to Shimabara to prowl for a different sort of prey. Others are likely asleep. Even _they_ seem to be abnormally inactive tonight.

He can sense the few members still awake who’ve been tasked with patrolling the compound itself, but as they’re on the periphery, they don’t break the illusion of almost _peaceful_ stillness—something the Shinsengumi’s residence doesn’t typically have.

Not that Saitō minds, of course; neither the cold nor the silence affect him adversely. Rather, he finds it soothing after being surrounded by so many people all day. Here, seated on the engawa in the tranquility of a crisp winter night, he relishes the rare moment when he can allow himself to relax and unwind—well, as much as any member of the Shinsengumi can. His guard is never _truly_ down, after all.

Behind him, he hears the slide of a door opening, then closing, and from the soft, tentative footsteps, it can only be Yukimura.

Then, the sound of her voice confirms it.

“Saitō-san?”

The scent of tea reaches him before she does. She kneels, setting a tray with two steaming cups beside him, and then sits.

“I saw you come back, and I thought you might like some tea to warm you up after your patrol.”

Saitō nods and accepts the offering with a murmured thank-you.

The cup is warm in his hands, and the curling wisps of steam rising from it mingle with his own exhales as he sips it carefully.

To his surprise, she remains sitting with him, drinking her own tea quietly for several minutes. Then, _not_ to his surprise—he has noticed that Yukimura has a tendency to grow unsettled in long silences—she speaks.

“Does Saitō-san like the stars?”

He looks at her briefly, considering, before turning his face back toward the objects in question, where they twinkle vibrantly in the seemingly endless expanse of inky night sky. “I suppose. Why do you ask?”

Yukimura shrugs. “I’ve always loved them for some reason. Some people make wishes on them, but that’s not why I like them. Um…they are…peaceful somehow?” Her shoulders bob up and down again. “I don’t know… I especially like cold nights like this, you know, when the stars are so very bright, where you can see the constellations so clearly.”

Saitō hums in agreement, and Yukimura takes it as a cue to continue.

“That one”—she sets her tea aside and gestures, drawing imaginary lines between some of the glittering specks—“is the big bear, and that is the little bear.”

“And that star”—she points to one of the brightest in the sky—“is tenrō, the celestial wolf.” **(1)** She angles her face slightly toward him, a smile curving her lips. “I thought that one might interest you.”

It is said innocently, with good intentions, and Saitō is sure that she either does not know or has forgotten the fact that _miburō_ , the nickname bestowed upon them, is seldom meant nicely. He lets it slide, making a noncommittal noise in reply.

Yukimura motions toward two bright stars in close proximity and then dimmer ones near them. “Those are the twins. And to the left, that’s the crab.”

He nods, reassuring her that he is, in fact, still listening. He realizes, with no small amount of wonder, that he _is_ interested in what she has to say. Normally, by this point, constant idle chitchat from someone would have begun to grate on his nerves.

And thus, with no interruption from Saitō, she continues, her hand waving as she points out more constellations and tells him some of the lore surrounding their names. They are fanciful tales, very likely rooted more in myth than in fact, but whoever has educated her has done so in great detail.

“You are very knowledgeable about constellations,” Saitō says, only marginally aware of the trace of admiration that has crept into his tone.

“Oh! Thank you!” The brightness in her voice rivals the brilliance of the celestial bodies they’d been discussing. “My…” She falters, the word trailing off as she swallows hard. “My father taught me about them…”

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see her inhale deeply, her hands clenching the fabric of her hakama. There is tension in the air between them now, likely born of the awkward topic that is Kōdō.

“I…um…” Yukimura takes another purposeful breath. “Anyway, I apologize, Saitō-san, for chattering so much. I know you must be tired,” she says, affecting false cheer as she stands and bows deeply. “I’m so sorry for keeping you!”

She pivots on her heel, clearly intent on making a retreat back to her room. With a swiftness unmatched by most, perhaps _all_ save a precious few in the Shinsengumi, he snatches the hem of her sleeve, forcing her to stop.

“Yukimura.”

She turns partially back toward him, though her face is obscured by darkness. Saitō can’t quite put his finger on _why_ he feels compelled to offer her comfort, but he attempts to do so all the same.

“There is nothing wrong with having fond memories of your childhood,” he says, his own memories of his family and childhood home forever colored by what happened when he killed the hatamoto’s son. He was also well acquainted with the duality of man. “What Kōdō did—is potentially still doing—does not erase the good things he did for _you_. Just as good people are capable of evil, so too is the reverse true.”

With that, he releases her sleeve and returns to face the courtyard, head tipped back as he stares at the sky.

When she whispers, “Thank you, Saitō-san,” he merely nods, and then she’s scurrying off to her room, leaving him to trace the constellations she pointed out with his gaze.

Yukimura, he muses, is not unlike a star herself in a way. Her hopefulness, her upbeat attitude, her desire to be helpful, to be a friend when truly they had done little to earn her friendship, at least initially—all coalesced into this personality that shines even amidst the inherent darkness of the Shinsengumi. Or perhaps it is _because_ of that darkness that she seems to shine brighter. Whatever the case, somehow, she has become a presence in their lives that they can’t help but appreciate.

Much in the way that a person can hardly look at the sky on a clear night and _not_ admire the stars.

For a _very_ brief moment, before he mentally chastises himself for indulgent philosophizing and heads to bed, Saitō hopes that their own personal star won’t ever dim in her brightness.

* * *

**(1)** based on the Wikipedia article for Sirius.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s notes: It was a cold starry night last night, and well, this happened. Also, please note, with the exception of Sirius, this assumes a *very* Western perspective regarding the constellations, which obviously may not be even remotely historically accurate. I started to do some research on astronomy in Japanese history and, well, ultimately I decided that rabbit’s hole was one I’d better stay out of if I wanted to get this finished any time this century. Lastly, I do not usually write in present tense…I have NO idea why my muse wanted this one to be that way…


End file.
